City of Blaze (The Fireblade Array)

by H. O. Charles

  The wiry man shook his head. There was no sign of Blaze having been used here. The amount needed to hide an army would have left some sort of mark. Artemi tugged at him in his mind, her flame burning ferociously. No, he wasn’t going to bring her out here. Would there always be a mental battle of wills like this? Morghiad examined the view from the cliff again. He could see for miles across the Kemeni peaks, probably to the city of Tordhani on a clear day.

  He kicked at the snow in frustration and re-mounted Tyshar. “Let’s go back, lads. This may be a case of waiting.” The four of them ambled back to the army deep in thought. Morghiad tried to think through every myth and tale he had read which involved missing armies. Some spoke of castles hidden in Blaze Energy, one had described cloud of stones and another mentioned animal disguises and moving trees. But none had talked of cliffs! The soldiers were gossiping away furiously when he returned, news had spread quickly about the mystery. By now Artemi was hammering at him for attention. The kahr had no choice but to search her out, and there was time now, in any case. He followed the heat of her fires to her position, deep inside the ranks with Beodrin. Her dark eyes had lost their usual warmth, and glittered wildly at him. He could not help but appreciate how excellent she looked in black and green, though he had not come to moon over her – this was business.

  “Use me to explore the geology,” she demanded before he could speak.

  The men around seemed to accept her tone to him as normal. Perhaps that was an allowance they made for the queen. If anyone else spoke to him like that they’d be in some serious trouble. Evidently Artemi had detected his annoyance at her address, as he felt a pang of guilt from her. But she suppressed it quickly, and then all he could sense from her was the warmth of her love.

  “Give me your hand,” he said. It couldn’t hurt to have a look.

  Morghiad had come to accept that he had indeed become addicted to handling Blaze Energy from her. He had never felt so alive as when the fire of it tore down his arms and through his torso. It was part of the fury that had made their love making so... rapturous. It ripped into him now, pulling at the fibres of his being, trying to burn him from the surface of the Earth. He closed his eyes to sense the world around him. He could feel the condensation of the horse’s breaths on the air, the stamping of thousands of hooves and feet upon the ground, the soft touch of snowflakes as they teased the ground. Morghiad reached further down into the earth. He found a sort of fault line that ran parallel with the cliff in front of them. It ran vertically through the stone. The kahr looked deeper still. The entire, hole-filled cliff was sitting on something. It was...

  “A pillow of water,” Artemi said.

  Morghiad opened his eyes and nodded, releasing her hand. “Thank you, my heart.”

  He turned his horse and rode it back to the front of the lines. “Broad reach, men!” He ordered. This was utterly crazy. But if a bigger army had survived it, so could his. The hooded and cloaked soldiers arranged themselves into lines only a few men deep, but many men wide. “Forward, one-hundred paces, double-time!” His voice echoed between the peaks.

  The entire Calidellian army marched forward at some speed over the fault line. As they did so, the captain began to feel the earth tremble. “Faster!” he yelled. More soldiers sprinted onto the vast block of stone, causing it to undulate. He sighed with relief when they’d all made it over the fault line. The ground continued its gentle earthquake for a moment after they’d all crossed and then, slowly, it began to sink. The entire cliff, with soldiers on top, descended below the floor of the pass, drawing down small avalanches of snow at the edges. Vast walls of rock rose above them until they were level with what had been the cliff bottom, and then even that rose above them. They descended into the bowels of the Kemeni Mountains themselves.

  Morghiad ordered the men to have swords at the ready as they dropped. It was fortunate that they heard him over the noise of scraping boulders. Whoever that rogue army was, they would be waiting to trap him when they hit the bottom. Assuming there was a bottom. Artemi’s flame kicked and jumped from the considerable amount of exhilaration she was experiencing. That girl did seem to find thrills from of the strangest things. Eventually the descent slowed and a vast, fire-lit cavern came into view. The captain did not like caves in the earth. Why couldn’t it have been a nice tunnel to the outside world? He was surprised to find that no enemy waited for him. That was curious. Where were they all? When the floating stone stopped he ordered the men to offload sharply, which they did with appreciable smoothness. Once empty, the great cliff rose behind them slowly again. Morghiad took in the new surroundings as quickly as he could. The vast cave split into two branches ahead of him. The entire thing had been hewn by hand many centuries ago by the look of it. Vast drawings of hunters and rulers adorned the walls in a style he wasn’t familiar with. It certainly wasn’t Kemeni. Sadly none of the murals or numerous scratchings on the floor looked like a map. This was a time when he could really do with the knowledge of a hero of legend.

  Someone had been down here recently enough to light the lamps, and he had to assume they knew he was here now. If they hadn’t come for him here it meant they must have a better trap for him elsewhere. Blazes, how he hated caves! He wanted to keep Artemi a secret for now, so it was best he avoided using her for sensing what lay ahead until he became desperate. They might not feel her, but with all these hidden niches they could see her. The cliff stopped moving behind them, bringing about a deathly silence. “Alright men. Luna’s battalion with me. Rest of you stay here for now.” Over nine-hundred men surged behind him in a flurry of black and green. He moved towards the left exit of the cavern and sniffed at the air. Having spent years living in that twisted warren of a castle, he knew the smell of old cavern air against new. The left exit smelled old, very old. “Round to the right, men.” The band trotted into the right exit. It smelled much fresher. They came through to another open cavern. A narrow bore at the top let in a thin bar of light. “Just like home,” he whispered. The sound echoed around the stone walls. “Sorwyn and Talonfor, fetch the rest of the men. We may have to do this in steps.” They nodded and vanished back into the blackness of the tunnel.

  The army progressed cautiously through the network of caverns, Morghiad choosing an uphill route where he could. They passed through chambers that could variously be described as meeting rooms, theatres and practice halls. Every one was empty, and this only served to heighten the suspense. The captain feared that, through a lack of knowledge of the caves, the enemy might find a way round to the back of his men and take them unawares. To combat this he placed the weaker soldiers in the middle, and his best men at both ends. Much to her disapproval, he put Artemi in the middle also. The kahr stepped up to the entrance to another wide tunnel. He could smell dampness through this one; lots of water. He motioned for the men behind him to be quiet. They were excellent at that; at times Morghiad was very proud of his army. The kahr was doubly proud of the speed at which they’d dispensed with pinh-covered blades in favour of poison-free ones. At first he and the lieutenants had led by example, but then more and more men had imitated them. Soon, he hoped, it would be a practice that was looked-down upon. He could sense a great deal of tension rising in Artemi as he moved forward. The captain took her emotions as a caution; if the legends about her were right, her instincts were usually reliable.

  He trotted to the end of the tunnel. There was light; lots of fire light there. Then he saw faces in row upon row, several-hundred yards away. An entire army poised to cut him to pieces. And he had nowhere to run. “Forward, men. Narrow round!” He shouted at them. The rogue army ahead surged forward to meet him and he drew his sword with a roar. He had to get his men as far in as possible to give them the best chance. As he drew close to the enemy he noted their faces has been daubed in black mud, presumably from the caves. Tyshar dashed through the shallow stream of water that lay on the cave floor. Behind the blackened army he could see a castle of red stone. A fortress. In a cave.
His sword slashed through the first three soldiers he met in a single swipe. They’d placed their worst fighters at the front, leaving their best to meet his men once they’d grown tired. Morghiad cut down soldier after soldier, the motion becoming so repetitive that he lost all sense of time. The Calidellian army fought with superior skill to those first soldiers, and made good progress through them. Dimly he could sense that Artemi was fighting hard as well, and sweat had broken out upon her brow. She would have enough skill to be safe for now. A tall, muscled man with ancient eyes came to face him. Morghiad knew better than to underestimate him and flew at the vast man with all speed and strength. His foe reacted with lightning rapidity, evaded his strike and slashed Tyshar’s girths. The horse screamed, knocking soldiers down left and right with kicking hooves.

  Morghiad was forced to jump down and face his enemy from the ground. He sliced the other man’s girths in a similar fashion, dodging his blows as they came down. His opponent must have been a full seven feet tall, for even Morghiad found himself looking up at him. The kahr clenched his teeth and drew his second sword. He sensed another soldier running to attack from behind and swung his blade back to catch him in the head. A soft, wet thunk accompanied the strike. The captain withdrew the blade and swung it counter to his other sword. The cross motion caught the huge man in the stomach, spraying blood over the captain. Morghiad pressed forward with another swipe, but the man countered. He met every one of Morghiad’s subsequent strikes, and the kahr began to wonder if he had come up against another Kusuru Assassin. That was until he made a fast slice at his enemy’s left arm. It cut clean through and sent the arm flying through the air. The huge man fought on, but Morghiad made multiple disabling slashes; until the old man fell. Morghiad stood above him to wield the final blow. He would be merciful in his speed. This man deserved as much.

  “Little Kahr Morghiad,” the man whispered with a smile.

  The kahr hesitated. “You know me?”

  “You’re just like your father. Mother’s eyes... but you look like him.”

  Morghiad frowned. These were mind tricks. “I look nothing like him.” He raised his sword.

  The giant kept talking. “Nonsense. Same build, same grit. I’d know the son of Hedinar Kantari anywhere. Thought you were dead.”

  The captain lowered his sword, but was forced to swing it as another soldier came for him. He beheaded his attacker with a single blow and looked back at his defeated opponent. “You are a prisoner of our army.” He pulled a nearby soldier out of combat and swiftly dispatched the man’s opponent. “Take this rebel here prisoner. See that he is well tied-up.”

  “Yes, lord-captain.” The soldier dragged the severely wounded giant back towards the tunnel entrance.

  He sought his horse and found him after cutting through a swathe of black-painted soldiers. Tyshar was too panicked to be ridden, so Morghiad sent him to the rim of the cavern with a slap on his hind quarters. He sensed Artemi was still cutting through bodies at speed, and she still had enough energy to fight on. His army were making excellent progress through the rogues, they had to capitulate soon. He chopped down more attackers and moved forward to the red fortress. A woman’s scream rang out across the cavern. Morghiad’s first thought was Artemi, but her fires did not tally with the noise. The other men looked around in confusion as they battled. Then his eyes fell on the source. A Calidellian soldier lay on the ground. The soldier’s sword had been cast aside by the opponent and her brown, chestnut hair fanned out from under the hood. Aval. How had she-? There was no time to speculate. He ran at her assailant and swung at him with his blade. The man jumped rapidly to avoid the strike and countered. Morghiad defeated him in three moves and kicked his lifeless body to the floor. He helped Lady di Certa up roughly. “What are you doing here?”

  She blinked at him. “I know my way around a sword, lord-captain. I wanted to help.”

  “You’ve put your life and the lives of everyone else at risk by coming here. Get out of my battle!” He pushed her away, and felt something cold press into his ribs from behind. Aval’s eyes bulged. He felt Artemi’s heart skip a beat. Had she been injured? He looked down to find the tip of a blade jutting from his chest. Thank Achellon it wasn’t her. Morghiad turned and fought his attacker. More men piled in to fight him. He couldn’t breathe but continued to swing his sword at them as fast as he could manage. The world turned to shades of grey as he spun and then the noises faded to silence. All he could see were moving shapes. His legs gave up on him, and Morghiad hit the ground.

  Artemi felt every inch of steel as it penetrated his heart. She was powerless to help him as a crowd of rogue soldiers had surrounded her and were doing their best to keep her occupied. She had lost count as to how many there were. If she could blast a few of them away with Blaze they wouldn’t be a problem, but they kept piling in, one after the other. She hadn’t seen Beodrin in ages. Artemi knew there was only one course of action if she was to save her captain. As she whirled her blade between her attackers she delved deeply for the Blazes. This time she would have control of them. Artemi channelled all of her anger, all of her desperation and all of her love into building a bridge to the torrent of Blaze Energy that hid behind the veil. She felt something give, and Blaze poured into her like a river released from a dam. The awesome power enveloped her and she began to form a complex shape from it, all the while slashing her blade at her opponents. It felt so good to wield. Fire shot out from her body in every direction, incinerating the crowd of men around her. Their burned corpses fell to the floor instantly. The rogue soldiers saw her step out from the smoking debris and, in tens, turned and fled into the catacombs that led from the chamber. She blasted a few more of them for good measure and then turned her attention to finding her love. He was not there. His river flowed... distantly.

  “Artemi!Stop!” Passerid came running towards her. “Stop. You’re not ready.”

  Artemi held onto the Blazes tightly. “They have him.”

  The kanaala stopped in front of her. “He’s still alive?”

  She reached out for him. His torrent of emotions had drained to a brook. She nodded. “Yes.”

  Passerid took her by the arms. “You have to let go of that Energy now, Artemi. You’re too young yet. Please, let it go.”

  The red-haired woman shook her head.

  “He wouldn’t want you to risk your own sanity. Release it.”

  She clenched her jaw. They were taking him farther from her with every second that passed. She had to get to him soon and this man was in her way.

  Passerid shook her. “Artemi D’Avrohan, I command you to release the power you hold. That is an order!”

  The wielder looked at him. She could crush the man like a fly if she wanted to.

  “How will we find the captain if you’ve gone half mad?” he yelled.

  “We?” She felt nauseous... and dizzy.

  “Yes, you and I and whoever else is needed.”

  Artemi gave in and let go. She felt so weak, like she had fought a thousand battles in a thousand days. She started to fall to the floor, but Passerid caught her. “It’s alright, my queen,” he said, “We’ll get him back.”

  They had to be quick, she thought. They didn’t have much time.

  When she came round again they were still in the caverns. A few of the wounded were being tended to against the walls. Silar was studying her intently.

  “Saw you incinerate a few bad guys. That was impressive stuff, girl.” He smiled.

  She looked around at the men. “We need to find him. Soon.”

  “And we will, Artemi. But we can’t go charging into this maze without a plan. Though that’s exactly what we did to get here. We don’t even know how to get out of here yet.” He squeezed her arm affectionately. “And you need to get your strength back, too.”

  Artemi tested her arms and legs. She felt absolutely fine. She stood and Silar rose with her, and together they walked between the men to a crowd that had gathered in one corner. Silar guarded
Artemi as she made her way to the front, where a woman in a Cadran uniform stood. It was Lady di Certa. What in Blazes was she doing here?

  The lady continued to speak: “I followed you with my hood raised, no one seemed to notice ...the kahr saved me. I was about to get my head cut off when he stepped in and slew my opponent. But just as he was telling me to go to safety... he -” she broke-off, and swallowed.

  Artemi folded her arms and finished the sentence. “He got stabbed in the heart.” She was doing her best glower at the stupid woman, and hoped it looked suitably intimidating.

  Aval turned to face her. “He died saving my life, child!”

  “You do not speak to her in that manner here, Aval,” Silar said sternly. A few of the men nodded.

  The beautiful dark-haired woman frowned as if an insect had landed on her shoe. “Why is this wi– this woman a professional soldier anyway?”

  Artemi could contain her rage no longer. She slapped the darker woman, hard. “Your idiocy has endangered the lives of my brothers and has left my captain perilously close to death! If he dies I will hold you personally accountable.”

  “Lord-Captain Morghiad is alive?” one of the men asked.

  Artemi turned. “Yes.” Why did they seem so surprised? She could sense that the sword had been removed from his torso and that he was healing, but feared what would happen to him next. “We must find him quickly. I can locate him.”

  Silar left her side to collect together the men he thought best for the rescue party and so Artemi was resigned to pacing rapidly among the men.

  “Artemi?” A surprised voice stopped her in her tracks.

  She looked to its source and saw a giant of a man, missing an arm and a leg. He was tied up with numerous belts. His eyes spoke of many years alive. Scarred Jarynd stood over him as his guard.